Major parties offered equal seats on proposed electoral reforms panel

The government has proposed giving two seats each to the PML-N, PPP and PTI on a parliamentary committee intended to consider electoral reforms. The proposed Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms would bring governing parties, coalition partners and opposition groups into a formal process focused on changes meant to improve the conduct of future general elections.

Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said the PML-N, PPP and PTI would each receive two seats on the proposed body. Under the suggested composition, the Awami National Party, Balochistan Awami Party, National Party and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl would each have one seat.

The committee has not yet been finalised, and PTI has not agreed to participate. Its chief whip in the National Assembly, Aamir Dogar, said the party had reservations about the government’s approach towards the opposition. He said a final decision would be taken at a joint opposition meeting expected in the coming days.

According to the minister, the prime minister and deputy prime minister would decide the final membership after consultations with the opposition, coalition partners and parliamentary leadership. The process is therefore still at the nomination and consultation stage, rather than a completed agreement on the committee’s structure or agenda.

A PPP source said the party was likely to receive the committee chairmanship, following discussions between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. That has not been formally announced. The PPP has submitted names for its representatives, but the names have not yet been made public.

The government has separately approached allies and opposition parties for nominations. The opposition earlier described the proposed committee as ineffective unless its long-standing demands were addressed, while PTI sought equal representation between the government and opposition sides. These differences explain why the proposed panel cannot yet be treated as a fully agreed cross-party forum.

Electoral-reform committees can examine issues such as election laws, administrative procedures and safeguards for transparent polling, but the article does not identify specific reforms that have been accepted for discussion. The immediate next step is whether opposition parties, particularly PTI, choose to join and submit their nominees. That decision will determine whether the panel becomes a broad parliamentary process or proceeds without the participation of the main opposition party.